The invention relates to a method of treating and curing Herpes simplex, an acute inflammatory virus disease of the skin or mucus membranes characterized by the eruption of small blisters on the skin and mucus membranes. More particularly, this invention relates to the treatment and cure of Herpes by application of a chemical composition broadly comprised of a mixture of a saturated dialdehyde, a lower alkanol containing from 1 to 3 carbon atoms and a alkalinating agent to the erupted to broken blisters or the newly formed ulcers.
While the prior art discloses no known cure for the viral disease Herpes simplex, the various chemical compositions used in the present invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,016,328. The only disclosed and known use of these chemical compositions is for in vitro disinfecting medical and surgical instruments and household objects. However, this in vitro evidence for cidal action for a chemical does not make the use of the chemical for in vivo applications obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art. In vivo utility can only be determined by careful clinical trials using double-blind, perspective randomized placebo-controlled cross-over studies. These studies are essential to determine the effect upon the in vivo use of the chemical compositions from such factors as metabolism, chemical transport, and other inhibiting and antagonistic local events. Thus, the known in vitro use, for the chemical does not establish that the same chemical composition may be used in vivo.